Since Henry Cavill hasn’t been part of the upcoming DC release slate in a few years, I thought we’d finally put to rest his infamous mustache-gate. However, I just learned the actor isn’t only back in a mustache for Movember; he’s also bringing attention to the Justice League controversy-turned-meme for a new brand partnership. Color me surprised.
Cavill has been quiet lately as he works on the Voltron and Highlander movies, along with being hard at work on the Warhammer 40K series he’s passionate about getting right. Last week, though, he launched a collaboration with Googlebook where he talks about his storied history with his mustache directly, saying “What I know is mustache injustice!” in a series of commercials promoting the laptop. So, what’s going on? Per the actor:
When Google approached me to start conversations about this, they had a concept in mind. And then, obviously, the important thing is to showcase the features of Googlebook, but we also wanted to have a lot of fun with it as well. I wanted to lean as much as possible into poking fun at me.
If you’re somehow unfamiliar with Henry Cavill’s mustache-gate, let me give you a history lesson. So, the actor decided to grow a glorious mustache for his role in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. But then, suddenly, he was called back to work on Justice League for reshoots while he was still obligated to do work on the MI movie.
This caused conflict between the two productions because the Fallout director didn’t want Cavill wearing a fake mustache to complete the film. Ultimately, it was decided he’d play Superman with his mustache on, and it was removed in post-production with CGI. The Witcher actor has said he wouldn’t have grown the mustache if he’d known the reshoots were going to happen. Anyways, check out the commercial where he makes fun of the viral Hollywood story:
Yeah… this is hilarious. In the commercial, Cavill creates his own '80s-inspired video game on his Googlebook called Mustache Protocol using Google Antigravity. The concept of the video game is that you play as a mustachioed Henry Cavill on a mission to stop rogue CGI artists from erasing all the mustaches in the world. In an interview with Inverse, the former Superman actor also said this:
During the Justice League release, the theatrical release, there was obviously that very strong meme going around of me, both mustachioed and mustache-less. And we thought that was a great idea to just have a good giggle. It hasn't really ever gone away, that joke. And so we thought, let's lean into it and let's have some fun while we showcase the incredible features of Googlebook.
The memes were certainly strong around Henry Cavill’s mustache for a while. Someone even added the stache back to Justice League. The whole thing has never left the mainstream, and the actor has even kept the jokes going in recent years with his subsequent projects.
And, still, I’m surprised this happened. I applaud Henry Cavill for this hilarious brand partnership, because it’s kind of genius. Oh, and it’s for a good cause, too. Google is donating $11 to support awareness and funding for men's mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer in honor of Movember for all who play Mustache Protocol. Just another reason he’ll always be Superman to us.
